Election day is coming. This is the first year Minneapolis is doing the ranked choice thing. It's new and I want to be prepared, so I spent some time tonight thinking about my vote. First thing about "ranked choice": There was primary day last month when I felt naked without my "I Voted" sticker. (I didn't get one because ranked choice eliminates the primary.)
Here's the thing. I am a reasonably well educated adult, so this whole voting thing should be easy for me. Wow. Because it took me at least an hour to figure out who I wanted on the park board (where I pick 3 at large members and one from my park district), Board of Estimation and Taxation (who knows why I spent time on that because it may not even exist after this election) and what to do about the City Charter Amendment Question (to eliminate the Board of Estimation and Taxation). The charter amendment question was the hardest to decide. I had a hard time finding information from either side I thought I could trust. City council and the mayor is also up for election but I already knew basically who I want to vote for in those elections.
So, with everyone picked out, I had to actually make a list so I remember who I want. You'd think it'd be easy right? There are no less than 12 names on my list, plus instructions on how to vote on the amendment. (I've never heard of any of these people. I hope they're all real.) And I didn't even use up all three choices for the Mayor or City Council. (I know. The list could have been even longer.)
What I've learned from the process:
1. Ranked choice really requires some serious thought before election day. It's like homework.
2. I suddenly care about the park system. (Duh, given the insane amount of time I spent running through our parks this spring and summer.) I told my mom what was important to me about the park system (meaning for me to enjoy running around the lakes) is what time the bathrooms are unlocked in the winter (because they take away the biffies in the winter for some inexplicable reason) and how often the paths (lakes and parkways) are cleared. (Who can say single issue voter?)
3. When I think about the parks, I always consider the rec centers and sports teams as separate from the lakes, parkways, and the falls. That's a very inaccurate thought.
4. League of Women Voters of Minnesota is an excellent website that really helped me make decisions about my vote. They also endorsed a position on the City Charter Amendment, helpful since it's the only site other than the "yes" and "no" sites of any credibility. WIN. Second WIN for the league, their national chapter has an explanation of health care that doesn't make my head explode.
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It great that you took the time to figure out who you were going to vote for.
ReplyDeleteRCV is used in San Francisco, where a recent study showed that after sending over $700,000 on RVC education in the city, nearly half the voters didn't know they would be using RCV when they showed up at the voting booth.
Can you imagine? What was the point of changing the voting system. I predict this election will not go well, but it will sell a lot of papers in the next 8 weeks. That's how long they say it count and declare winners!?
For me deciding how to vote in traditional plurality elections is harder than deciding how to rank the candidates. Case in point: tomorrow I will vote in a vote-for-three election pretty much like your park board, except that the voting rule is plain old plurality. I know who I want to win but, because it's a small election and there's no poll data, I don't know whether I should vote for the three candidates I think are most acceptable, or "bullet vote" just for my favorite. (In vote-for-N plurality, your second and third votes will sometimes hurt the chances of your favorite.)
ReplyDeleteThis is just a more complicated version of the "spoiler effect" that is so familiar in single-winner elections. Ranked choice voting all but eliminates the spoiler effect, and reduces the need for voters to think strategically as well as any voting rule. This makes using RCV literally as "easy as 1-2-3".
Bob, you are smarter than that. You know RCV does not eliminate the spoiler effect. The report from Univ. of Vermont disproved that long ago:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=img9y2AYTQA
and RCV voting can hurt your favorite as well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZGTnp3cgFY
I easily found these on sites that openly discuss the pros and cons of various voting systems.
A normal count all the votes and add them up is harder to vote on than a RCV? Your bias is showing.
Some odd and misleading comments here. RCV is quite popular in San Francisco, and the "spoiler" impact alluded to by Rob is far too esoteric to affect how people vote.
ReplyDeleteGlad you took time with your ballot and found some good resources to help with it!